Edison Comm. College President Joins National Forum to Promote E-ship

EDISON COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT
JOINS NATIONAL FORUM TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship Promotes Entrepreneurship by Engaging
Community Colleges to Join New Presidents
for Entrepreneurship Forum

PIQUA – May
11, 2012 -- The National
Association of Community College Entrepreneurship
(NACCE), the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting
entrepreneurship through community colleges, has announced that President Cristobal
Valdez of Edison Community
College has joined its new Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum.
Through the program, presidents of community colleges throughout the country
commit to increase the focus on entrepreneurship at their institutions and the
impact these colleges have on the economic well being of the communities they
serve. Officials from four other Ohio community colleges have also joined the
new forum.

With the economy still lagging in many regions
of the United States, more than 170 community colleges have joined the
entrepreneurship forum, and by doing so, have committed to playing a greater
role in stimulating economic development in the communities they serve.

"Edison
Community College understands and welcomes our role in economic and business
development for a more vibrant economy the Darke, Miami and Shelby counties,”
said Valdez. "We anticipate continuing
to partner with the small business development center and other Ohio community
colleges to provide entrepreneurship instruction, training and mentorship. Following
our successful Entrepreneurship boot camp, we look forward to being a resource for aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs in the
area.”

Other Ohio community college officials joining
the forum are President O’dell Owens of Cincinnati State Technical and Community
College in Cincinnati; President Roy Church and Provost Marcia Ballinger,
Lorain County Community College in Elyria; President Kevin Boys, Southern State
Community College, serving Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland
counties; and President Laura Meeks, Eastern Gateway Community College, serving
Columbiana, Jefferson, Mahoing and Trumbull counties.

About
the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum

The Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is in
response to the Obama Administration’s Startup
America call to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by
encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. NACCE is a founding
affiliate of the Startup America
Partnership, an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs,
corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders.

According
to NACCE Executive Director Heather Van Sickle, the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is a way for community
colleges to advance entrepreneurship and create jobs across the country.

Community college presidents who join the Forum make five commitments:

• Develop transparency of
community college and community assets

• Create internal and
external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship

• Increase entrepreneurs’
engagement in community colleges

• Engage in industry cluster
development

• Create broad exposure to
their college’s commitment to entrepreneurship.

"The
five commitments were developed based on NACCE’s observations of what was
working best on member campuses,” said Van Sickle. "After observing the
entrepreneurship-related activities of our members over a period of years, we
started to see commonalities among the more successful institutions,” she said.
"One of the major things that clearly makes a difference is the commitment by
leadership to entrepreneurship.”

About
NACCE

The National Association for Community College
Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and
distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and
services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates for
"entrepreneurship movement.”

Through membership, an annual conference and
exhibition, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars and podcasts, a dynamic
list-serv, and other resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination
and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding
entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These programs and
courses advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member
colleges.

For more information about the Presidents
forEntrepreneurship Forum, or to
join NACCE, visit http://www.nacce.com. Follow
NACCE on Twitter at @NACCE and like the NACCE – National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship page on Facebook.